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Once you get past the question of why you'd want an Irish-style stout brewed in the US, you can then ask the question of how good it is.

It's not nitrogenated, although that didn't occur until 1964 with draught Guinness so it's not historic and doesn't really matter here. And it does have a little bit of a sour tang to it, which would be historically accurate, although neither this nor the current Guinness are even nearly as sour as the stouts of yesteryear would have been. I think the twang here is really just from a low pH, and not due to any soured beer added back in as Guinness does.

If you think along the lines of a Guinness Foreign Extra stout with a much lower starting gravity and adjusted bitterness you'll have a pretty good idea of what this beer is about. It's roast and chocolatey, and slightly caramelish. It's about the malt, and there's really just a little bit of hop in the flavor, which is probably not even equal to the fruitiness of the yeast, which is also limited.

It's a difficult beer to formulate in some ways because the style, really, is a bit disjointed. It's got spikes of roastiness, bitterness, and acidity; and there's some of that here but it seems that Brooklyn wanted to try to round it out at least a little bit to make it more drinkable, which it is.

So why would I want an Irish style stout brewed in the US? To celebrate Saint Patricks Day, of course! Although Guinness is seen as quintessentially Irish, it's actually an English company that persecuted the Irish. Arthur was a committed unionist and opponent of Irish nationalism; and his decedents financially supported the Ulster Volunteer Force and allegedly lent men and equipment to the British Army during the Easter Rising of 1916. So this year I'll have a Murphy's, a Beamish, or a Brooklyn... but I won't support Guinness. (1,914 characters)

Poured into a Guinness pint glass a deep dark chocolate brown with a half finger beige colored head that held pretty well.Aromas consisted mainly of coffee and earth with mild bitter chocolate.A fuller nice feel in the mouth,pretty smooth.Dry and roasted on the palate as it should be,dark roast coffee,unsweetened chocolate,and earthiness mainly stood out.A no frills but pretty true to form Irish stout,I would drink again. (425 characters)

The beer pours a dark brown color with an off-white head. The aroma has a good bit of chocolate in it, as well as a hint of roasted malt. The flavor is very similar. There is a ton of dry cocoa notes in the flavor, as well as some roasted malt. The beer is very dry overall. Thin mouthfeel and low carbonation. (339 characters)

I had this on tap. It has a roast nose - coffee and chocolate with some sweet notes. It pours dense black. It has the dry stout roast and burnt barley bitterness but it has traces of sweetness in the background that are separate from the roast. the body is medium full and the carbonation medium. (296 characters)

served on tap into a standard pint glass at Mammoser's Tavern in Hamburg, NY.

nearly black body with about one finger's worth of light tan colored head, faded to nothing after 5 minutes or so.

not too much going on in the aroma, pretty much typical of the style. lightly roasted malts with some slightly sweet toasted malts. only slightly fruity.

very similar to the aroma. sweet toasted malts and some fruity like esters with some light roasted malt.

slightly heavier side of light bodied. carbonation is just a touch on the high side. finishes with a light dry bitter feel.

overall this was pretty average for the style. i feel like a nitro tap would improve this beer overall so much. id gladly take this over guiness, slightly more flavor and body, but really not something i would buy again. (812 characters)

On tap at the Happy Gnome in St. Paul. Served in a standard shaker pint glass. This comes in at 3.9 ABV according to the bar beer menu.

Appearance: Dark black with a little bit of a brownish color on the edges of the glass. Moderate amount of bubbles. About one finger of light tan head with decent retention and lots of lacing on the glass.

Smell: A fairly sweet aroma of dark roasted malts with hints of caramel, toffee, chocolate, coffee, and nuts. Nice biscuit like smell with some sugar. Light hint of earthy hops in the background.

Taste: A roasty and yeasty taste of dark biscuity malts. Some notes of chocolate, coffee, caramel, toffee, sugar, and a little bit of nuts. Light earthy noble hop presence towards the finish. Pretty nice for such a small beer.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Very creamy and smooth. Starts somewhat sweet and has a drying finish.

Overall: A very good take on an Irish Dry Stout. Very impressive taste for an ABV lower than the typical mass produced light beer. (1,047 characters)

An excellent session ale found on tap at Mad Mex Robinson, pours a pitch black body with a light khaki tan airy head...fluffy texture forming everlasting head that has great retention. Aroma kicks up mild herbal earthy mint like hop edge, amongst the dark roasted malts, creamy textured hints of dark chocolate and mild coffee but remains pleasantly roasty with malt character. I noticed a non nitro tap which was a plus and actually brought out more character in this beer. Dark roasted malts bring ample bitterness a touch of tea like leafy earthiness going on as well, but a semi sweet multi-dimensional malt complexity comes forth with each sip...hints of creaminess, dark chocolate roasts in a light stout form. Mouthfeel was medium bodied easy to drink, nothing cloying or harsh on the palate very approachable beer to drink in number. Overall, I'm happy to see Brooklyn putting out a stout other than Black Ops, or their Chocolate Stout, this was pure brilliance. (970 characters)

A: The beer pours very dark mahogany brown, looking near black in the glass; a deep ruby color is visible at the edges of the glass under bright light. The moderate size, tan colored head soon died down to a thin partial top coat and a durable collar around the edge of the glass, with patchy lacing left on the sides.

Rather simple but attractive aroma of sweet and roasted malts. The taste reveals some subtle but spicy hops mixed with a stronger flavor of dark roasted malts. Sweet, with hints of chocolate up front, and some coffee in the mildly bitter finish.

M: Light+ bodied: about as expected. Some dryness; moderate carbonation.

O: No apparent flaws, but rather mild flavor and not very complex or interesting either. (819 characters)